N° 055 - TEAM JIM BEAM TURKISH TEAM
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| Vehicle |
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| MODEL | MAKE |
| 450 | KTM |
Kutlu Torunlar: « More than a race, a family »
A 59th place finish overall on his first Dakar in the bike division in 2007, without assistance…Kutlu Torunlar can certainly be proud of his rally debut. He needed courage and a lot of abnegation to make it to the Senegalese capital in the allotted time. “I broke my clavicle on day four and tore some knee ligaments on day five. I took medication to ease the pain and I held on just until the end…when I returned to Turkey, I had two operations and I couldn’t ride a motorcycle for six months!” And to think his wife was worried before the start…”But she knows these challenges are indispensable to my balance”, says the Turkish rider.
However, the challenge met the expectations last year of this fan of high intensity sports who has twice participated in the Olympic Games (in 1992 et 1996) in wind surfing. “It went beyond my expectations. It was a fantastic adventure”.
Back again this year, Kutlu Torunlar has three goals: “To arrive in Dakar, is a classic objective; win the ‘trunk-moto’ trophy, in which I finished 2nd last year and finish in the overall top 30”.
A fine challenge, especially without assistance. “I certainly wouldn’t do it this way if I was the only Turk in the rally. But with my countryman Kemal Merkit, we help each other a lot”. Next year or the year after, the riding buddies hope to set of towards Dakar with other Turks to share this event even more “that is more a family than just a race”.
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